Cape Lookout / Pacific Ocean / Tillamook, Oregon
Thursday, August 30, 2007
A Nice Little Get-Away
Since Larry is now officially unemployed, we decided to spend a few days over at the coast. The weather was perfect, the scenery beautiful, and the time away was just simply delightful!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Coming up . . .
Christmas in sunny San Diego, perhaps!
Our son Jim and his fiance Patricia have finally set the date for their wedding -- it's December 29th. Southern California is not a half-bad place to be at that time of year, so it should make for a nice little vacation, as well as a great place for a family gathering.
The date is also kinda fun, in that Patti's birthday is December 22nd, and Jim's birthday is December 30th, so that puts all of their special celebrations within a very close time period.
This picture was snapped on Friday evening (Aug. 24th), while the four of us were enjoying a two and a half hour dinner cruise along the Willamette River, while aboard the "Portland Spirit". The special occasion was We were celebrating our 38th wedding anniversary and
Our son Jim and his fiance Patricia have finally set the date for their wedding -- it's December 29th. Southern California is not a half-bad place to be at that time of year, so it should make for a nice little vacation, as well as a great place for a family gathering.The date is also kinda fun, in that Patti's birthday is December 22nd, and Jim's birthday is December 30th, so that puts all of their special celebrations within a very close time period.
This picture was snapped on Friday evening (Aug. 24th), while the four of us were enjoying a two and a half hour dinner cruise along the Willamette River, while aboard the "Portland Spirit". The special occasion was We were celebrating our 38th wedding anniversary and
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Because You Come to Me
August 22, 1969This was sung at our wedding (by my Uncle Grover Kahl) 38 years ago today:
Because, you come to me,
with naught save love,
and hold my hand and lift mine eyes above,
a wider world of hope and joy I see,
because you come to me!
Because you speak to me in accent sweet,
I find the roses waking 'round my feet,
and I am led through tears and joy to thee,
because you speak to me!
Because God made thee mine,
I’ll cherish thee,
through light and darkness through all time to be,
and pray His love may make our love divine,
because God made thee mine!
with naught save love,
and hold my hand and lift mine eyes above,
a wider world of hope and joy I see,
because you come to me!
Because you speak to me in accent sweet,
I find the roses waking 'round my feet,
and I am led through tears and joy to thee,
because you speak to me!
Because God made thee mine,
I’ll cherish thee,
through light and darkness through all time to be,
and pray His love may make our love divine,
because God made thee mine!
Music by Guy d'Hardelot and lyrics by Edward Teschemacher
With Russ Case and His Orchestra and Produced by Eli Oberstein
Sing Magazine "Record of the Month"
Recorded December 02, 1947, New York
Artist: Perry Como
It's still true today.
Monday, August 20, 2007
A Very Fun Rainy Day
Today was a lousy weather day, but a very enjoyable day of friendship! My friend, Karen and I had plans for something big that only comes around once a year, and she wanted to get a good early start. The wake-up call I had planned on didn't wake me up since the volume on my CD player alarm clock was set to a very quiet, soothing sound to fall asleep by. Larry came in about 7:30 to gently wake me and remind me of my plans for the day, since I had told him the night before that I couldn't sleep in this morning.
Actually, he came in to see if I had yet discovered the weather conditions and what impact they might have on my plans. Plus, I guess he realized that either I was accidentally oversleeping, or that I needed to call Karen and see if she wanted to postpone our big day.
It was raining--not just sprinkling (as the internet weather news stated), but an honest-to-goodness, steady, clothes-soaking rain. Even through my sleepy eyes, I knew it would probably prevent optimum enjoyment of our plans. So, I sadly called Karen to offer another day this week. Karen wasn't the least bit deterred by the weather! She had been lying in bed, awake since 6:00 or 6:30, imagining how great it would be to go in the rain, since few others would show up! Plus, she said that according to the weather man, the rain would probably let up within an hour or so. I thought, "Yeah, right -- that's not the weather report I read", but I didn't tell Karen that.
She arrived a little before nine o'clock so we could get "a good early start", on our little journey to the annual "Street of Dreams". As if 9:00 A.M. just wasn't quite early enough, she showed up ten minutes early--just couldn't wait to get our day started. Plus, she really wanted to get a good, close place to park, and be nearly first in line to get our tickets.
Our travel time didn't take us anywhere near as long as she figured it would, so we were there about 20-25 minutes early--according to her calculations. (I had let her do all the planning for this, without even bothering to read the information on the advertisement flyer, since I had already been there a week and a half ago with Larry.) When we arrived at our destination, we were delighted to find very fews cars, and ecstatic to be able to park really close to the entrance area, since it was still raining cats & dogs.
We stepped out of the car, onto the very wet field-parking lot, into the rain, quickly pulling on our jackets and popping up our umbrellas, laughing at the weather and marveling at our wise planning. As we approached the ticket gate, we noticed that, not only was no one else in sight, it wasn't even open yet. Well, we were really early, so obviously it was too soon for the ticket office to be open. Then, as we stood there wondering what we should do besides stand in the rain and wait for the next twenty minutes, we both noticed the sign. At the same moment, we turned and faced each other and dropped our jaws. The sign said the hours were 11:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., which meant we were an hour and twenty minutes early -- and it was pouring rain -- way out in the country, in the middle of nowhere! We stood there in the rain and laughed at ourselves, and then drudged back to the car.
Someone who was there to work told us there was a little "coffee spot" just down the road at a gas station. Sure enough there was. Actually, we spotted a general store and just assumed that was it, so we parked and went inside, glad to be in out of the rain. Karen bought a cup of coffee while I found the employees' private restroom, usually off-limits to customers. I thought, "Well, as long as we buy coffee, from the proprietor, I guess she'll be okay with me using her private bathroom. However, when I came out, Karen quietly let me know that this wasn't really the coffee spot we had been told about. It was simply a general store, with no place to sit and drink coffee--except on the bench outside--in the rain. The little coffee spot was across the street, at the gas station. So, up went our umbrellas, and we quickly ran through the rain, across the street to the gas station, laughing at ourselves once again. There we drank coffee and visited with the proprietor until time to head back to the "Street of Dreams".
By the time we got back, there were lots more hardy souls like ourselves, filling up the parking areas, and standing in line to buy tickets--in the rain. We ended up sharing our umbrellas with two other women huddling beside us in the rain, while we waited once again for the ticket office to open. Then we were finally on our way to tour six fabulous, brand new mansions -- yes, huge, incredibly beautiful way-over-sized "homes" (more like private lodges). Oh, what a way to live!
It's terribly hard to remain content with what you have, after spending even a couple of hours in places like that! It is truly a dream world!
Next, we were off to lunch, back into the real world, at a wonderful little French cafe-boulangerie, complete with all the amazing breads and desserts on display. We both decided on the soup de jour--white bean in a tomato base with fennel and sausage, which came with some really good French bread. It sounded delicious to both of us, but as we began to eat, we discovered that the beans were hard--almost crunchy--totally not fully cooked! That almost spoiled our fun -- until they graciously offered us something else to eat and our choice of any of their French pastries for dessert--free! Mm Mmm MMMM! That saved the day. As we left the restaurant, to walk back to the parking garage--through the pouring rain--we laughed again at the weather and all the fun we were having out and about in it together!
After that we stopped at a couple of stores that are great to browse/shop in, until Karen suddenly realized what time it was. It was way past time to call it a day and head home, but it was such a fun day--totally enjoyable, despite the rain -- a far better way to spend a gray, rainy day, than sitting in the house, looking out the window, and bemoaning the lousy summer weather!
Actually, he came in to see if I had yet discovered the weather conditions and what impact they might have on my plans. Plus, I guess he realized that either I was accidentally oversleeping, or that I needed to call Karen and see if she wanted to postpone our big day.
It was raining--not just sprinkling (as the internet weather news stated), but an honest-to-goodness, steady, clothes-soaking rain. Even through my sleepy eyes, I knew it would probably prevent optimum enjoyment of our plans. So, I sadly called Karen to offer another day this week. Karen wasn't the least bit deterred by the weather! She had been lying in bed, awake since 6:00 or 6:30, imagining how great it would be to go in the rain, since few others would show up! Plus, she said that according to the weather man, the rain would probably let up within an hour or so. I thought, "Yeah, right -- that's not the weather report I read", but I didn't tell Karen that.
She arrived a little before nine o'clock so we could get "a good early start", on our little journey to the annual "Street of Dreams". As if 9:00 A.M. just wasn't quite early enough, she showed up ten minutes early--just couldn't wait to get our day started. Plus, she really wanted to get a good, close place to park, and be nearly first in line to get our tickets.
Our travel time didn't take us anywhere near as long as she figured it would, so we were there about 20-25 minutes early--according to her calculations. (I had let her do all the planning for this, without even bothering to read the information on the advertisement flyer, since I had already been there a week and a half ago with Larry.) When we arrived at our destination, we were delighted to find very fews cars, and ecstatic to be able to park really close to the entrance area, since it was still raining cats & dogs.
We stepped out of the car, onto the very wet field-parking lot, into the rain, quickly pulling on our jackets and popping up our umbrellas, laughing at the weather and marveling at our wise planning. As we approached the ticket gate, we noticed that, not only was no one else in sight, it wasn't even open yet. Well, we were really early, so obviously it was too soon for the ticket office to be open. Then, as we stood there wondering what we should do besides stand in the rain and wait for the next twenty minutes, we both noticed the sign. At the same moment, we turned and faced each other and dropped our jaws. The sign said the hours were 11:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., which meant we were an hour and twenty minutes early -- and it was pouring rain -- way out in the country, in the middle of nowhere! We stood there in the rain and laughed at ourselves, and then drudged back to the car.
Someone who was there to work told us there was a little "coffee spot" just down the road at a gas station. Sure enough there was. Actually, we spotted a general store and just assumed that was it, so we parked and went inside, glad to be in out of the rain. Karen bought a cup of coffee while I found the employees' private restroom, usually off-limits to customers. I thought, "Well, as long as we buy coffee, from the proprietor, I guess she'll be okay with me using her private bathroom. However, when I came out, Karen quietly let me know that this wasn't really the coffee spot we had been told about. It was simply a general store, with no place to sit and drink coffee--except on the bench outside--in the rain. The little coffee spot was across the street, at the gas station. So, up went our umbrellas, and we quickly ran through the rain, across the street to the gas station, laughing at ourselves once again. There we drank coffee and visited with the proprietor until time to head back to the "Street of Dreams".
By the time we got back, there were lots more hardy souls like ourselves, filling up the parking areas, and standing in line to buy tickets--in the rain. We ended up sharing our umbrellas with two other women huddling beside us in the rain, while we waited once again for the ticket office to open. Then we were finally on our way to tour six fabulous, brand new mansions -- yes, huge, incredibly beautiful way-over-sized "homes" (more like private lodges). Oh, what a way to live!
It's terribly hard to remain content with what you have, after spending even a couple of hours in places like that! It is truly a dream world!
Next, we were off to lunch, back into the real world, at a wonderful little French cafe-boulangerie, complete with all the amazing breads and desserts on display. We both decided on the soup de jour--white bean in a tomato base with fennel and sausage, which came with some really good French bread. It sounded delicious to both of us, but as we began to eat, we discovered that the beans were hard--almost crunchy--totally not fully cooked! That almost spoiled our fun -- until they graciously offered us something else to eat and our choice of any of their French pastries for dessert--free! Mm Mmm MMMM! That saved the day. As we left the restaurant, to walk back to the parking garage--through the pouring rain--we laughed again at the weather and all the fun we were having out and about in it together!
After that we stopped at a couple of stores that are great to browse/shop in, until Karen suddenly realized what time it was. It was way past time to call it a day and head home, but it was such a fun day--totally enjoyable, despite the rain -- a far better way to spend a gray, rainy day, than sitting in the house, looking out the window, and bemoaning the lousy summer weather!
Next time the gray skies and pouring rain is getting you down -- get out in it
Monday, August 13, 2007
Almost Perseided
The date had been locked into my memory ever since posting it on my calendar a couple of weeks ago. I even arranged for an automatic reminder to be emailed to me so I wouldn't forget. It worked -- I remembered, and could hardly wait for the big event!
We got together with our "Home Fellowship" group last night, and arrived back home about 9:15. Perfect timing, I thought! (I hadn't yet told Larry that I was planning for us to watch the Perseid meteor show that night.) I had it all planned: We would dress warmly, pack some food and drink, load blankets (or sleeping bags), pillows, and chaise lounges into the back of our SUV, and head out to find dark skies -- far from the lights of metropolitan Portland.
Finally, I announced my plan to Larry, and we began to make preparations to go. Then our son called and said he was on his way home, but would I please look over some stuff for him to help him out. I agreed to do so, and invited him and Patti to join us for our meteor viewing excursion. He declined, saying he was really tired, and going to bed when he got home.
When he got home I was still busy with the favor he had asked for, so he got involved in the project, as well. That kept us busy until around 12:30 A.M.! (So much for him going straight to bed.)
Well, by then Larry and I decided to forego the long ride to find totally dark skies. So, we hauled chaise lounges up onto our upper level deck (from the patio down below), and outfitted them with blankets and pillows, and plopped down to watch, along with some toast to munch on. Yup, we were comfy and ready for the show.
We soon found ourselves annoyed by all the outside lights on the houses around us, so we found ways to block out the light from our immediate view, and then settled back in to watch the show. Okay, now we're ready! Let the show begin!
By then it was about 1:00 A.M. (at least), and we layed back comfortably, staring into space, expectantly waiting for the big show. Hmmm...wasn't this show supposed to start by 10:00? Well, maybe it starts slow and then picks up speed as the night goes on. The peak time was reported to be 2:00 A.M., so at least we won't miss it -- supposedly at least one meteor per minute! This aughta be good!
Finally, Larry saw one -- I missed it (looking a different direction). After a few minutes, he saw another one -- I missed that one too. The wait lengthened . . . then he saw another one -- I didn't see that one either. Then it happened -- I saw one! Fun! Then another one -- cool! Then another very long wait.
Both of us got very sleepy while we stared and waited. We were probably out there for about an hour or so, but finally agreed that the poor showing just wasn't worth the trouble of trying to stay awake. With much disappointment we got up, carried all our stuff back inside, and went to bed.
Maybe we each saw half a dozen meteors. It was supposed to be a meteor "shower", but I'd have to say it was more like a few sprinkles--with just a drop now and then. It was kinda fun to be sort of camping out on the deck, in the cool night air, just watching the night sky, with all the stars, but it certainly wasn't what we had imagined it would be. I guess we were almost perseided, but not quite.
We got together with our "Home Fellowship" group last night, and arrived back home about 9:15. Perfect timing, I thought! (I hadn't yet told Larry that I was planning for us to watch the Perseid meteor show that night.) I had it all planned: We would dress warmly, pack some food and drink, load blankets (or sleeping bags), pillows, and chaise lounges into the back of our SUV, and head out to find dark skies -- far from the lights of metropolitan Portland.
Finally, I announced my plan to Larry, and we began to make preparations to go. Then our son called and said he was on his way home, but would I please look over some stuff for him to help him out. I agreed to do so, and invited him and Patti to join us for our meteor viewing excursion. He declined, saying he was really tired, and going to bed when he got home.
When he got home I was still busy with the favor he had asked for, so he got involved in the project, as well. That kept us busy until around 12:30 A.M.! (So much for him going straight to bed.)
Well, by then Larry and I decided to forego the long ride to find totally dark skies. So, we hauled chaise lounges up onto our upper level deck (from the patio down below), and outfitted them with blankets and pillows, and plopped down to watch, along with some toast to munch on. Yup, we were comfy and ready for the show.
We soon found ourselves annoyed by all the outside lights on the houses around us, so we found ways to block out the light from our immediate view, and then settled back in to watch the show. Okay, now we're ready! Let the show begin!
By then it was about 1:00 A.M. (at least), and we layed back comfortably, staring into space, expectantly waiting for the big show. Hmmm...wasn't this show supposed to start by 10:00? Well, maybe it starts slow and then picks up speed as the night goes on. The peak time was reported to be 2:00 A.M., so at least we won't miss it -- supposedly at least one meteor per minute! This aughta be good!
Finally, Larry saw one -- I missed it (looking a different direction). After a few minutes, he saw another one -- I missed that one too. The wait lengthened . . . then he saw another one -- I didn't see that one either. Then it happened -- I saw one! Fun! Then another one -- cool! Then another very long wait.
Both of us got very sleepy while we stared and waited. We were probably out there for about an hour or so, but finally agreed that the poor showing just wasn't worth the trouble of trying to stay awake. With much disappointment we got up, carried all our stuff back inside, and went to bed.
Maybe we each saw half a dozen meteors. It was supposed to be a meteor "shower", but I'd have to say it was more like a few sprinkles--with just a drop now and then. It was kinda fun to be sort of camping out on the deck, in the cool night air, just watching the night sky, with all the stars, but it certainly wasn't what we had imagined it would be. I guess we were almost perseided, but not quite.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Good News!
That's what Larry exclaimed as he came upstairs from his office this morning. His exact words were: Good news! I just found out I'm getting fired on August 24th! I replied, "Oh, good!" Then we both laughed at the absurdity of such a statement! Actually, we prayed for this to happen, and were delighted that God answered our prayer.
Three weeks ago I described how we are still "Patiently Waiting" for the outcome of Larry's uncertain job situation. Here's a quick update:
On July 24th he had his second interview for a job in the local area -- a job he would really like to get, and one that he seemed very likely to get. Last Friday, since he hadn't heard anything further, he called to inquire and was told that they had been a bit delayed in that decision-making process and that he would probably hear during the middle of this week. However, he still hasn't heard anything further, so we are still patiently waiting.
Things have continued to deteriorate in the company he currently works for, and bankruptcy still appears imminent. His severance date was originally set as September 21st, but the commonly held fear is that the company could be out of business before that date, and those employees who had been given such a distant severance date would never see paychecks to that date, much less receive their severance check. Of course we've been praying about that little concern.
For the last couple of weeks Larry has been pondering whether to ask that his severance date be moved up to the next round of final paychecks--August 24th. I've been cautioning him against making that decision too quickly, and rather, just waiting on the Lord to make it clear. On Wednesday (this week), during a phone call with his boss , the perfect opportunity presented itself and Larry confidently stepped into it, asking to have his severance date moved up to August 24th. His boss checked into that possibility, and then called Larry back to tell him that he could be "released" from further duties on that date, but the severance date was "locked in concrete" and could not be changed. That would simply mean that Larry could discontinue working on August 24th, but would continue to receive paychecks until September 21, at which time he would receive his severance check (if the company was still in business).
We immediately went to the Lord together on this matter, seeking that His will be done.
The next day (yesterday) his boss called back and said they had changed their minds, and were willing to consider changing Larry's severance date. This morning Larry received the confirmation that, indeed, his new severance date is August 24th. Now we're asking that God keep the company from going bankrupt before that date.
Praise the Lord, from whom all blessings flow!
Three weeks ago I described how we are still "Patiently Waiting" for the outcome of Larry's uncertain job situation. Here's a quick update:
On July 24th he had his second interview for a job in the local area -- a job he would really like to get, and one that he seemed very likely to get. Last Friday, since he hadn't heard anything further, he called to inquire and was told that they had been a bit delayed in that decision-making process and that he would probably hear during the middle of this week. However, he still hasn't heard anything further, so we are still patiently waiting.
Things have continued to deteriorate in the company he currently works for, and bankruptcy still appears imminent. His severance date was originally set as September 21st, but the commonly held fear is that the company could be out of business before that date, and those employees who had been given such a distant severance date would never see paychecks to that date, much less receive their severance check. Of course we've been praying about that little concern.
For the last couple of weeks Larry has been pondering whether to ask that his severance date be moved up to the next round of final paychecks--August 24th. I've been cautioning him against making that decision too quickly, and rather, just waiting on the Lord to make it clear. On Wednesday (this week), during a phone call with his boss , the perfect opportunity presented itself and Larry confidently stepped into it, asking to have his severance date moved up to August 24th. His boss checked into that possibility, and then called Larry back to tell him that he could be "released" from further duties on that date, but the severance date was "locked in concrete" and could not be changed. That would simply mean that Larry could discontinue working on August 24th, but would continue to receive paychecks until September 21, at which time he would receive his severance check (if the company was still in business).
We immediately went to the Lord together on this matter, seeking that His will be done.
The next day (yesterday) his boss called back and said they had changed their minds, and were willing to consider changing Larry's severance date. This morning Larry received the confirmation that, indeed, his new severance date is August 24th. Now we're asking that God keep the company from going bankrupt before that date.
Praise the Lord, from whom all blessings flow!
Friday, August 3, 2007
What August Brings
April showers bring May flowers, but, look what August brings!
It must be true . . . it's on my calendars for August! Proof positive!One can dream, right?
While you're dreaming, here's something worth thinking about:
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you plant." - Robert Louis Stevenson
Thursday, August 2, 2007
SURPRISE !
My pictures of our camping trip at the coast last weekend are posted on my photo page. (I even surprised myself by getting them posted so soon!) Click here